In how many ways might it have been important for Nephi to build a temple "after the manner of the Temple of Solomon"? (5:16). Just as the answer to this question had many answers among the people of Nephi, one can appreciate how temple-building can and does deeply increase one’s devotion and commitment to eternal things in every land and among every people still today. Certainly, the temple was central in Lehi’s and Nephi’s world. It was the place where people gathered to be taught the law of the Lord, to express their loyalty to God and to their leaders, to make purifying sacrifices, to pray, and to experience and express joy. Life in Nephi’s world was almost unthinkable without a temple. And so, one of the very first things Nephi does when he establishes his new city was to construct a temple. Having been taught many useful building skills and becoming hard workers (5:15, 17), Nephi and his people, at great sacrifice, built a glorious temple, modeled after the Temple of Solomon. Although not as opulent, it was no less the House of the Lord. It was the center of life, devotion, and happiness for Nephi and his people. The temple is no less important in the world today, and maybe even more so.
John W. Welch, "The Temple in the Book of Mormon: The Temples at the Cities of Nephi, Zarahemla, and Bountiful," in Temples of the Ancient World: Ritual and Symbolism, ed. Donald W. Parry (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1994), 297–387.